The Kickstarter fundraising campaign: Day 1

We're 22 hours into this now, it's alive, and doing well. The interest has been heartwarming, and I'm a lot more confident than I was yesterday.

I've been very pleased with the help I've had to promote this, some nice coverage which I wasn't expecting. The feedback I'm getting can be summed up by paraphrasing an email I received -- 'Robin, you make great scenery, and I know it's difficult finding funding. I don't know anything about making scenery, but I do have a good job which pays well, so we both do what we can.'

I understand that there's an initial spike which represents those long-term supporters who have always been first in to help, but even at the moment, the average pledge is $178, amazingly generous.

Just a comment on the target amount: this is tricky on Kickstarter, as it is an all-or-nothing system. The trick is to pick an amount which is workable, but also reachable. So it does represent the minimum amount that would work for this project. In reality, though, the more the merrier. I'm just saying this now, to make the point that if you are thinking about making a pledge, please ignore the goal amount, it isn't the real target. The real target is as many happy, interested simmers as I can possible get!

This amount was chosen as it will ensure the initial release. After that, I rely on sales of the first release, but given that a lot of people will have already paid via the Kickstart campaign, this could get tight. So extra funds ensure that I can get straight into full-steam ahead on project number two.

There is a FAQ feature on Kickstarter, and normally I'd think about what questions I'd expect, but here I'm solely relying on actual questions:) So if there is anything you are unclear on, please ask, and I'll probably stick it on the FAQ.

There's a bit of a vibe on some of the more freeware-focussed communities, and I do understand that I might appear to be some newbie trying to muscle in on these markets, and I'd like to see some discussion on this if anyone has issues or questions. Again, I look forward to any and all feedback, both good and bad. Yes, I do operate as a business, this is my twelfth year now, and this is my sole income now.